Meet the Family The WHOLE Family
by courderouge2006
Summary: Clark visits Buffy in Cleveland at Slayer HQ, but a few other guests have decided to drop in to meet him as well. 3rd in the Crossed Boundaries series. I own none of these characters.


Thanks to everyone for the reviews, and thanks for reading. Still own nothing here.

--

Clark touched down in the alleyway behind the nondescript building Buffy had given him the address to. Pulling his bag out from under his duster, he spun into his namesake blur before stopping again, dressed in his normal attire of tan work boots, jeans, a blue t-shirt and red flannel over shirt. Rolling his sleeves up he picked up his duffel and walked out of the alley, heading through the front door and seeing a receptionist desk. "Wow, they go all out here."

He sat the duffel down and put his hands on the counter, waiting for the woman to finish her call. She hit a button and turned to him, smiling sweetly. "Welcome to Reyals Incorporated, how can I help you sir?"

"Hi, I'm Clark Kent, I'm here to see…" He suddenly disappeared from sight.

The receptionist stood up and looked over the counter, confused… until she saw him on the floor with a spunky blonde wrapped around him and hugging him tightly enough to make him gasp for air. "Here to see Miss Summers I take it?"

He nodded, blushing slightly from the attention.

Buffy was still hugging him tightly, her face against his chest. That scent, she missed it so badly the past week. His scent. It smelled like the country and… Clark. She finally looked up at him with a big smile on her face. "Hi!"

He could only smile back. "Hello there. Miss me?"

Buffy finally blushed slightly. "Just a little."

He grinned, pushing himself up off the floor, still holding her. "I missed you too." He leaned down and kissed her softly.

Breaking apart a while later, Buffy grabbed his hand and started pulling him into the building further. Clark barely had time to grab his duffel before he was following her. "So what's been going on here?"

She wrapped her arms around his, leaning against him. "Nothing much. We've been clearing out a few more nests, and we found where they're breeding the Omeh demons, so that's taking a big chunk out of the attacks in that district."

"That's great. How are the girls doing? Everyone coming along good?"

She nodded. "Yup, it's all five by five."

He looked over at her, confusion written on his face.

Buffy just laughed. "You'll get used to it, it just takes some time hanging around Slayer central."

"Yea, I was going to ask about that. Reyals Inc.?"

Buffy reached into her back pocket, pulling out a business card with the corporation's name. She held it up in front of the window. "Look at the reflection."

Clark studied it for a moment before chuckling. "Very nice. Hiding in plain sight."

They walked down the hallway slowly, enjoying being back together. He finally broke the silence. "So uh… I guess it's time to meet your people now?"

She stiffened against his side for a moment before she looked up with a nervous smile. "Yea, about that…"

Clark stopped suddenly and Buffy was yanked back out of her forward momentum. She looked up at him, still smiling. "Something wrong?"

Clark narrowed his eyes, looking at her. "What did you do?"

Buffy licked at her lips. "Technically, I didn't do it. I was just talking to Wil one night, and she asked about you, and I told her you were coming this weekend, and the next thing I know I heard from Xander, and then Giles called me, and Dawn was bouncing all around the room, and…"

He reached out, cupping her face and making her look at him, meeting his eyes. "Buffy, what's going on?"

She sighed. Taking his hands down, she kissed his palm quickly. "Just keep in mind that I really, really care about you ok?" She turned around and opened the door to her suite, stepping through.

Confused, Clark followed her quickly. "Buffy, what is going…?" He stopped suddenly, seeing all the people sitting around her living room, staring at him appraisingly. "Oh. Um… Hi." He gave a quick wave.

He glanced around the room at the people… a smiling redheaded woman, a young guy with an eyepatch, an older man wiping his glasses clean, what looked like a normal teenage girl grinning at him, and a brunette looking him up and down very predatorily. "Damn B, he is fine. Good job girl."

He looked over at Buffy and she smiled at him, a scared look on her face. "Sorry sweety. I didn't know they were all coming until today."

Clark gulped. _"Oh this is gonna be fun."_

After the first slew of questions were thrown at him, Buffy shouted out above the noise. "That's enough! No ganging up on my boyfriend, if you want to grill him we'll do this in shifts. The rest of us will stay away, understood?" She crossed her arms, staring her friends down.

Everyone muttered agreement.

"Alright then. I guess… Faith. Go ahead. But be nice." She pointed at her sister slayer.

Faith hopped up, slipping her arm around Clark's. "Don't worry B, I'll be real nice."

"Faith, your turn is up. Willow, go!"

Faith huffed when she sat back down, watching the redhead walk out with the hunk. "I was just teasing, I don't get to have any fun around here, damn."

--

Clark walked through the garden with Willow. "So, Buffy said you're a Wiccan?"

She nodded. "Yup. It's been a little touch and go through the years, but now I've got a really good center on it." She reached out to one of the bushes and a flower bloomed, beautiful deep colors standing out.

Clark's eyes shot up and he chuckled. "Wow, you'd be a real help around the farm."

Willow smiled before she sat down on a bench, gesturing to the spot next to her. He sat down, stretching his legs out in front of him.

After a few minutes of silence, he glanced over and saw her watching him. She looked attentive, almost studying him. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I can see you."

He grinned, chuckling slightly. "Well I can see you too. You're sitting right here in front of me."

She shook her head. "No. I can see _you_." She reached out slowly and placed her hand on his chest.

Light flashed in front of his eyes, making him squeeze them shut tight. Slowly opening them again, he looked over to Willow… but it wasn't just Willow. She was glowing white, so bright he had to squint again. "What… what is this?"

She smiled. "This is the energy. I'm attuned to the Earth, that's where my power comes from. And if I concentrate, I can see the energy that flows through all things."

Clark blinked. "You… wow. You're glowing."

She chuckled. "Look at yourself Clark."

He glanced down at his hands, his eyes opening wide again. He wasn't purely white like she was. Below the glowing light he saw ripples of red, almost like flames flickering. Electric blue arcs sparked there too. "What is this? What's in me?"

Willow touched his hand again, and the world went back to normal. "I pull my power from the Earth, but yours is much more intense. There's not just one type of energy in you Clark. You draw from all around you."

He kept staring at his hands, rubbing them together. "I… I know the sun powers me. I hold the power in me, like a battery."

She stood, walking right in front of him and touching a rose on the bush before her. "It's not just that. Our lives affect us, and we draw from all of it. The sun might give you energy, but it doesn't power you Clark. I can see that you care, so much. I know how hard it was for you that night with the demons, I could tell from just hearing Buffy talk about it." She knelt in front of him, her hands laying on his again. "But you are a good man Clark. I can tell that much and I've only been around you for 20 minutes. The energy in you speaks loudly. The energy you draw from your friends, and your family. The energy you draw from your good deeds and your hard work. And the energy you draw… from love."

His face shot up, staring her in the eyes. He couldn't find words right then, just stare back at Willow's smiling face.

She nodded. "Don't worry, I won't say a word." She stood back up, beckoning him to his feet. "On one condition though."

He raised an eyebrow, suddenly uncomfortable at the fact Buffy's friend was going to blackmail him. "What's that?"

The wise, well spoken woman before him suddenly broke into a wide grin, giggling. "Can you take me flying? That looks so cool!"

--

Clark walked into the rec room, looking around at the equipment, sparring bags and weaponry laid out along the wall. He came here after walking Willow back inside, and Buffy telling him to come here for his next interrogation. "Hello?"

He heard a whooshing sound and turned quickly, catching the staff flying through the air at him. Looking in the direction it came from he saw the brunette from earlier… Faith. He couldn't help but look at her with a tilt of the head. "I thought I was supposed to keep away from you?"

She grinned, spinning a staff slowly. "I promised I'd be a good girl. Besides…" she stopped the twirl with the staff pointing up to a corner. "There's always someone watching around here."

Clark nodded. "You're Faith, the other Slayer."

"Well, I don't think it's that simple anymore. There's a lot more than just me and B keeping the streets safe from the creepy crawlies now."

He held the staff up. "I'll be honest, I've never been much for weaponry."

She shrugged. "Never a bad idea to have a few extra cards up your sleeve is it?"

"I guess you have a…" He was cut off when she moved quickly, swinging the staff at him. He blocked it with his arm out of instinct, and the staff shattered, wood splintering all around the floor.

Faith stepped back, staring at the broken tip of the staff. "Wow. Talk about your Man of Stone. I knew you looked rock solid but damn."

He sighed. "I told you, weapons aren't really my thing."

She walked over to the wall and grabbed a new staff. "Well, let's just give it a shot. Just tone down the strength there, not a fan of staffs slamming through my body here. Well, not in this particular way at least."

Clark chose to ignore that statement, walking back onto the mat and holding the staff with both hands. "Alright, but you have to take it slower here."

She nodded, walking to the mat with him. Jumping, she brought the staff down in an arc. Clark blocked it above his head, before he stepped aside and tried to sweep her leg. Faith jumped back before she ran at him and posted the staff down as she jumped, aiming a kick at his head.

Clark rolled back with the impact, rubbing his jaw as he pushed himself up off his knees. "Good hit. Almost as strong as Buffy's," he said with a smirk.

"Ohhh farmboy has jokes. Nice one." She ran at him, swiping both ends of the staff at him again and again, coming from all angles.

Clark blocked every shot, trying not to slip into super speed. He ducked the last swipe before he hooked her leg with the staff and knocked her to her back, grabbing her staff as she was falling. "Better?"

She rolled backwards, standing quickly. "Better. Ready to take the training wheels off now?"

Twenty minutes later Faith stood over the fallen hero, offering her hand out. "Not bad cutie. You did good for your first bo spar."

He accepted the hand and stood, grunting as he put weight on his left knee. Faith winced. "Yea, I'm really sorry about the knee by the way. Didn't expect you to get back up that quick, was just trying to keep you on the ground when I swung that one."

He held a hand up. "Not a problem. It'll be fine in no time."

She carried the weapons back to the wall and put them on the rack. Clark stretched his leg, still watching her. "So no questions? No interrogation?"

Faith chuckled. "I'm not really a think it out and use my words kind of girl. I'm more about the fight. You're a strong fighter, I trust you to back up my girl. That's all I needed to know about you." She shrugged.

Clark could only smile after hearing that. "Well thank you. I promise I'll do my best."

"Good." She walked toward the door, grabbing a bottle of water. "B's had a lot of issues with some twerps in the past. Some of them fought the good fight like her, some just posed. I don't think you're a poser, but if you prove me wrong, that little tap on your knee is gonna move north. Got it?"

He nodded. "Got it."

She smiled and headed for the door. "Five by five then."

Clark was laughing, finally getting that joke when Faith spun back around. "One more question… what's a girl gotta do to get a trip on Air Clark around here? No mile high club though, not that it isn't tempting."

--

After going off in search of Buffy, Clark was told she was working with a class right then and he was supposed to go to the cafeteria. Heading down there, he saw the man with the eyepatch sitting at a table and watching one of the mounted televisions. "Oh come on, are you kidding me? Every time they can't figure out how to make a plot line work they do a random hookup, seriously! Who would believe that dork could actually get the hot new bad girl in town?"

Clark walked over to the table. "What are you watching?"

The young man turned around, startled at first. "Oh hey. Sorry, I always get swept up in NickToons in the afternoon, there's some good stuff there." He stood quickly, holding his hand out. "I'm Xander."

Clark shook the offered hand. "Clark Kent."

Xander grinned. "Yea, like no one in this building already knows about you. You're like the biggest Tweet of the week."

Clark sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "More publicity, that's all I need."

Xander chuckled, patting him on the back. "Ah it's no big deal. Rumors fly around here all the time." He started walking toward the line. "Hungry?"

Clark's stomach rumbled at the mention of food. "Definitely."

Sitting back down with two trays piled high with random food items, the two men settled into comfortable silence while they refilled their stomachs. After a while Xander noticed Clark glancing up at his face… his patch to be more precise. "It's ok, you can ask. I'm not sensitive about it anymore."

Clark looked slightly embarrassed at being spotted. "What happened?"

"Oh you know the story. Boy meets crazy lacky of the First Evil, boy goes to fight crazy lacky of the First Evil, crazy lack of the First Evil rips boy's eye out of his socket for poops and giggles, and boy ends up with a nifty eye patch that makes him look nothing like a roguish pirate." Xander shrugged, tossing a tater tot in his mouth.

Clark shook his head. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"It's all good. If nothing else it gets me some respect around here. It's not easy being the only normal guy on a team of witches, Slayers, werewolves, vampires and inter-dimensional lock picks."

That struck Clark in a familiar place. "I can understand that."

Xander laughed, having to cover his mouth with his hand so he didn't spray cheeseburger all over the place. "No offense, but I've heard the stories, I seriously doubt that you could understand where I'm coming from."

Clark sighed, putting his drink down. "I wasn't talking about me."

Xander wiped his hands off on his napkin, sitting up a little straighter. "Care to enlighten me?"

Clark leaned over the table. "My best friend. She's known my secret since we were seniors, but even before that she was always willing to help me out when I was trying to save the day. For years she was by my side every step of the way, and she did it all without powers of her own. She did have an ability grow on her at one point, and even when she knew it might mean the end for her she used it to save a lot of people. She even saved me." He took another swig of his drink, finally looking up to meet Xander's eye. "Even when she knew it was out of her league, she never used that as an excuse to bail out on me. And I've heard enough about you to know that you haven't either. You've stuck by your friends through hell…"

"Literally." Xander broke in.

Clark just chuckled. "Yea. And you haven't used any excuses to try and hide from the fight. I just met you, but I hope you know that I respect you Xander."

The other man just stared, his mouth open, no words coming out. "I... uh…"

"I've lost my powers a couple of times, so I know how dangerous it is to get into this fight as a mortal." He pulled his shirt up, showing a scar that still marked his stomach. "I was shot. That ended up getting my powers back, long story. But I know how bad it was, and I can't imagine the pain you've had to endure over the years. So, for all the times myself and other 'heroes' might not have said it to you, thanks. We couldn't do it without you."

Xander sat back, looking drained. "Wow. That's… thank you. I mean, Buffy and them have said it, but to hear it laid out like that… would this be an inappropriate time for a fully hetero bro hug?"

Clark laughed loudly, echoing off the walls of the empty cafeteria. "We'll see about it later." He picked up the rest of his cheeseburger, digging in.

After tossing their trash and putting the trays on the wash line, Xander and Clark were heading out of the cafeteria. "Hey Clark, can I ask you something?"

He had been expecting this. "Let me guess, you want to go flying?"

Xander looked around sheepishly. "Ummm…. A little yea. But there was something else."

"What's that?"

Hitting the door, Xander turned toward him. "Would it be completely dorky if I wore a cape?"

--

Clark walked back into Buffy's suite, flopping down on the sofa. "This place is crazy."

"Nah, we're just eccentric without the millions of dollars."

He turned around, seeing Dawn in the entrance to the hallway. He stood quickly. "Hey Dawn. I'm…"

"You're Clark, I know. Trust me, I've heard plenty the past week." She walked over and sat down on the couch. "So Clark, let's get down to business. What are your intentions with my sister?"

His eyes bugged out for the umpteenth time that day as he sat back down. "Well… I uh… I mean, I haven't really…"

She crossed her arms, staring at him. "Are you just in this for some nookie-nookie-nah-nah? Because I can tell you that Buffy has real feelings for you, and she doesn't let herself give in to emotions all that often."

He was taken aback even more by the blunt attitude coming from this girl. "Wow. You really are Buffy's sister aren't you?"

Dawn finally let a smile grace her lips. "Flattery will get you nowhere bub."

"Not according to your sister."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure that's an interesting and ultimately icky story, but I digress."

Clark shifted on the sofa, leaning back. "Dawn, I care about your sister a lot. You obviously know about my abilities?"

She nodded.

"Well, you can guess that it's been hard for me to find someone that can accept that. I've had bad luck in the ex- department."

She snickered. "Yea, you two are pretty much in the same boat there."

He raised an eyebrow, but continued. "I know your sister has these abilities, and she dedicates her life to helping others, like I have. But there's something else there. She… she's let me in. And I've let her in too. So much of the time we're supposed to be these mighty beings, unbreakable and unyielding, but we're still people. And I've had a great support system at home with my family and friends. And I know she's had the same here with all of you. But there's something different about it when the person you can open up with is like you. When they have this burden on them, too."

Dawn's face softened slightly. "I guess I can understand that."

He nodded. "Your sister means a lot to me, more than I can even tell you. And it's not just for… physical reasons. I don't have to be the Blur around her, I don't have to be the hero. I can just be Clark." He smiled brightly. "And she understands how big a deal that is for me."

Dawn smiled softly, reaching out to pat his hand. "I get it. I really do. And don't worry, this is the extent of my 'little sister grilling the boyfriend' phase. But most likely not the last of my 'annoying little sister getting on big sister's nerves' phase, I really like that one. And you might end up collateral damage now and then."

Clark just laughed. "That works for me. I was an only child, it might be fun to experience the whole sibling thing."

Dawn laughed with him. "Oh hey… I was wondering something?"

Clark smiled and stood up. "I'll take you after I take Xander, Faith and Willow, we're going after dark." He heard the giddy squeal as he walked into the bathroom, shutting the door.

--

After catching Buffy again at the rec center where she was teaching an advanced weapons course, Clark walked into the library down in the basement. "Whoa." He walked around the stacks, loaded down with leather bound tomes and what looked like centuries of information.

"If that is an exclamation of appreciation, I thank you."

Clark turned around to see Mr. Giles standing at the computer bank near the front of the room. "This is very impressive sir. I don't think Smallville High had a library this big."

The man chuckled, walking down towards him. "Once again, thank you. I don't believe we've officially met, I'm Rupert Giles."

Clark nodded, taking the man's hand. "Nice to meet you Mr. Giles, I'm Clark Kent."

"Yes Mr. Kent, I've heard a good deal about you over the last few days." Giles walked to the desk and sat down, gesturing to a seat opposite him for Clark.

Clark sat down with him. "I hope it's been mostly good."

Giles chuckled. "Yes, definitely. The rumors of the 'hunky hero' that saved Buffy and the others down in that cavern have spread like wildfire, and what I've heard from Dawn and Willow only reinforces the epic tale that is Clark Kent."

Clark turned a shade of red. "Well sir, all I can say is…"

"But I don't buy it."

Clark stared at him, the formerly friendly man staring at him with a hard edge in his eyes. "Ex… excuse me sir?"

Giles took his glasses off and put them on the desk. "I've been around mystic forces for most of my life now, and the one thing I've learned is you never openly accept something new in this world easily. Buffy has had her experiences with a small town America farm boy before, and she was left in pieces afterwards. I'm sorry but I have no intentions of standing back and letting that happen again."

Clark shifted in his chair. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't see how you can think it's up to you. Buffy is a grown woman, and she's fully capable of making her own decisions."

"But she hasn't been told everything, has she Kal?"

Clark's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if someone were to do a good bit of looking into your past, they might be astonished by what they find. The same summer your parents had a missing persons report out on you, someone was waging a one man crime wave through Metropolis, fairly near your home. And this one man crime wave had a lot of strange incidents, unexplained phenomena that happen to match your powers."

Clark took a deep breath, letting it go shakily. "Buffy knows I've had rough times in my past, I haven't hidden that. Just because I haven't come clean about everything yet doesn't mean I'm hiding things from her."

Giles scoffed. "I believe that's exactly what it means Clark."

The younger man stood up. "No it doesn't! I know I can be honest with her but…"

Giles leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped. "None of this even comes close to the biggest secret, does it Mr. Kent?"

Clark turned from pacing and stared at the man, his eyes hard as stone. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"In this line of work, you can run into others who have interests in the… paranormal, and the occult. Such as Dr. Virgil Swann."

Clark didn't move. He refused to give this man the satisfaction of seeing him sweat. "What do you know about Dr. Swann?"

"I know that he was more of a believer in the alien than the occult, but he still had curiosities. We compared notes. He never gave me any specific information beyond the fact he believed that someone came with the meteors in the first strike in 1989, the same year as your adoption. You have many powers, whereas most of the people affected back in your hometown only had one. It's not that difficult to look into these facts and decipher the truth Mr. Kent."

Clark didn't move. "You seem to have all of your facts. What is it you plan to do?"

Giles stood up, facing the younger man. "What if I told you to leave Buffy alone, or your secret wouldn't stay that way very long?"

Clark stepped up to the elder man quickly, leaning in very close. "I'd like to think you wouldn't do that to her."

"I'd like to think that I'd be doing it _for_ her."

Clark felt the anger surging inside of him, his hands twitching. His eyes flashed red for a moment but he kept himself in check. "If you think that's the best thing for her, fine."

Giles' face faltered. He sighed and looked away as he stepped aside. "I had really hoped…"

"If you think the best thing for her is to find out about me in the papers, then that's fine. But I'm not running away from this Mr. Giles. Buffy is the best thing that has happened to me in a very, very long time, maybe my entire life. And I won't be scared off like this. If I have to live my life in the papers now, fine. I'll find some way to cope with it. And I won't have to worry about her being a target, she can handle herself, that's obvious."

Giles turned back to face the young man, shocked by what he was saying. "You'd stay with her, even at the risk of being exposed as an Alien being?"

Clark just nodded. "But for the record, I'd hope you wouldn't do that. Not just for my sake sir, but yours."

Giles picked up his glasses, wiping them with his sleeve. "I thought you weren't threatening me."

"I'm not." Clark walked closer. "But you know this would hurt Buffy. She looks at you like a father sir. She loves you like a father." He let that sink in. "I lost my own dad years ago, and I know hers hasn't been around for most of her life, especially not all of this. But you have. And if you didn't love her, you wouldn't be threatening me with this."

It was Giles' turn to look shocked. "I… well that is…"

"If you do this, fine. I'm not leaving." Clark took a deep breath. "I love her."

Giles looked up at him, obviously surprised. "I… I believe you."

Clark turned back toward the door and stepped off the platform.

"Clark."

He stopped, slowly turning back towards the man.

"I had no intentions to expose you. I simply… I was looking out for Buffy's best interests. She's had some rather rough luck in the past in this area, and I know that you mean a lot to her. Even in the rare conversations we've had lately I can tell that much. I don't deserve it I'm sure, after this little stunt, but I would hope that you could forgive an old man for looking out for his… his daughter." Giles couldn't meet the younger man's gaze, feeling a good bit of shame for his heavy handed tactics.

Walking back over to the man, Clark put his hand on Giles' shoulder. "I understand. And I won't say a word about it to anyone, alright?"

Giles nodded quickly. "Thank you. You truly are a remarkable young man. Buffy is lucky to have you." He offered his hand out to Clark again.

Clark shook it before pulling Giles in to a hug, putting a little more strength into it than he had to. "But just to warn you, after this I might not be as forgiving if this plays out again."

Giles nodded, grunting from the hard hug. "Understood."

Clark patted him on the shoulder again, heading for the door. He heard Giles clear his throat, preparing to speak again, and spun around. "You know what? Just to show there's no hard feelings, how about a flight later, sometime after dark? It's pretty exhilarating."

Giles looked surprised, caught in the middle of that very question. "Yes, well. I suppose that sounds interesting. I'll see you tonight then."

Clark waved before walking out of the library, heading for the stairs.

Giles grunted before leaning back, trying to stretch his spine out and heard a loud pop. Groaning slightly, he stood straight up again, twisting to his sides and smiling. "Remarkable. Hasn't felt that good in years."

--

Clark stood on the edge of the roof, staring up into the sky at the stars that weren't drowned out by the lights of the city. He smiled thinking back on today. It had been hectic, stressful, but most of all enlightening. These were good people, and he was glad that they seemed to accept him easily into Buffy's life.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He turned around to see her. She was gorgeous, the lights making her hair shimmer. "I was just thinking that you're lucky."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh yea? How so?"

"These people. They all love you, and one way or another I was put through the boyfriend test. I think I passed, so that's good."

She laughed, walking closer to him and wrapping her arms around him. "You passed. Through the day I kept getting visits from everyone telling me that you're one of the good ones. Thank you for putting up with it all day."

He leaned down, kissing her forehead. "They're your family. They have your best interests at heart. I can't blame them for that."

She smiled, hugging herself to him tighter.

Clark sighed, and then sat down on the roof's edge. "I need to tell you something."

She sat down on his leg, lifting her legs across the other one. "What's up?"

Clark took a deep breath, and then looked back into the sky. Concentrating for a minute, he pointed. "Do you see that cluster of stars right there?"

She shifted in his lap and leaned back against his chest, following his arm. "Yea, the one that looks like a bunny?"

Clark laughed. "Yea, I guess it does. That… that's where I'm from."

Buffy looked up at the stars and then back at him questioningly. "Ummm… the last I checked, Smallville was on land, not in the sky."

Clark cleared his throat. "I'm not from Smallville. My parents found me after the first meteor strike years ago. I… I came down in a ship among the meteor shower."

Buffy was quiet for a minute. She stood slowly, looking down at him. "You're… you're an…"

He nodded, his eyes shut tightly. "I came from a planet called Krypton. It was destroyed, but my father built a ship to get me to safety, and he sent me to Earth. The sun affects me, that's why I have my abilities. I'm an alien." He stared at the rooftop. "I understand if this is… if this changes things between us, and I should have told you sooner. I was shocked that you wanted me as badly as I wanted you. I've… I've been alone for so long, and you were this amazing gift that fate somehow decided I was worthy of."

Buffy hadn't said a word, taking in everything that he said.

"And Buffy, no matter what, if this is the end I have to at least tell you, I…"

"I love you."

His voice died in his throat. Clark fell to his knees, shocked. He stared up at her, his eyes shimmering. "You… what?"

She kneeled down with him, her hands sliding to his face and rubbing his skin gently. "I love you."

Clark's eyes shut tight, his hand moving up to hold hers. "You mean, you're not mad at me?"

She smiled softly. "I know a thing or two about keeping secrets Clark. And I understand how it can be scary having one that big. But it doesn't change anything. I fell in love with you, Clark Kent. Being from the bunny nebula doesn't change that."

He laughed, pulling her close, nuzzling his face against her neck and laughing more. They stayed there together, under the stars for so long.

Clark pulled back slowly, brushing her hair back from her face. "I love you too."

Buffy sniffled, pulling Clark close and kissing him. She didn't let go until they heard someone come through the door loudly.

"I get the first turn!"

"No way, he talked to me first."

"What the hell are you wearing Xander?"

"Nothing, mind your own business Faith."

Buffy looked confused and Clark just chuckled. "I kind of promised your family some flight time tonight."

Buffy's jaw dropped and she hit him in the shoulder. "You bribed them?"

"It wasn't a bribe. Exactly."

She shook her head and stood up, walking toward the group. "Ok, everyone! First rule! Buffy gets the first flight."

Clark slid up behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist. "Remember the very first one?"

Buffy blushed in front of everyone before turning around and popping him in the chest. "And Buffy better be the only one who ever gets the First Class treatment, mister."

"Yes ma'am." Clark grinned as he took off into the air, still holding her close.

Dawn looked around at the others when the couple was out of sight. "What did she mean first class?"

Willow and Giles just looked around the roof, not meeting her gaze. Faith just grinned. "I'll tell you when you're older, Dawny."

The rest of the conversation was cut short when Clark's over shirt came floating back down to the roof.


End file.
